Atmosphere Flashcards
Trace gases
Steam, methane, co2, n20, 03, neon, helium,
Percentage of nitrogen and oxygen in atmosphere
N 78% 0 21%
Weather
Instant state of the atmosphere, daily values of temperature, precipitation, pressure, windspeed. Short period of time
Climate
Average values, average behaviour of continents, oceans, atmosphere. Long period of time
Difference between weather and climate
Measure of time. Weather= conditions short period of time. Climate= how the atmosphere behaves in long periods of time
Atmosphere functions
Solar radiation filtration Breathing photosynthesis Regulation of: Earths temperature Biogeochemical cycles Hydrological cycles
Radiative (climate) forcing
Difference of insolation absorbed by earth and energy radiated back to space.
Insolation absorbed- energy back release
Radiative forcing is quantified at the
Tropopause
Positive forcing means
More incoming energy, so warms the system
Negative forcing
More outgoing energy, so cools the system
Climate factors
Physical and geographical conditions that are relatively constants in time and space, and related to energy transfer (heat)
Examples climates factors
Latitude, altitude and distnce from the sea, ocean drifts, vegetation coverage, water bodies, pressure and wind system
Earths atmosphere is moving due…
Differential action of the surface warming
Tropics receive more heat than poles due….
Solar rays are more perpendicular, cross sectional area is smaller, and thickness of atmosphere higher at poles
Earth atmosphere gets THINNER the HIGHER altitude because……
Higher ground presents less atmosphere material to store heat
Explains continentality
Summer= land and seas store heat from the sun
Land reflects more heat than seas
Winter= land and seas release heat stored
Ocean have more heat to release than sand
Ocean drifts transports..
Large amount of heat throughout the world
Oceans have a fast or slow response time to changes?
Slow
Permanent gases in atmosphere
N, o,
Wind is the
Air moving from a high pressure region towards a low pressure region.
Warmer air has…
Low pressure
High pressure has…
Colder air
Climate change agents
Water, co2, nox (formation of ozone and acid rain), 03, CFC HCFC HFC,
CFC contribute to..
Ozoe depletion
ODP has been set at
Montreal protocol
GHG has ser a protocol in
Kyoto
Ice cores extracted from glaciers provides us..
An atmospheric timeline of earths history
Most abundant trace gas
Argon
What is GHG
Gas in atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range
Albedo
Ability of a surface to reflect light
Anthropogenic sources
Combustion process: co2, co, nox
Industry
Transportation
Agricultural
Sources of anthropogenic nox
Motor vehicles
Energy balance
Amount of radiating energy that comes in and out constitues the earths budget
Optical regions
Ultraviolet, visible, infrared
Solar radiation fraction reflected has an average of
0.3
What is ODP OF A CHEMICAL COMPOUND
Relative amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause
Natural source of GHG
Biogenic (vegetation), soils (n2o),
Equivalent co2
Concentration of co2 that would cause the same level of radiative forcing as a given type
Co2 equivalency
Quantity that describes the amount of co2 that would have the same GWP when measured over a specified timescale
